


Sideline Stories: New Kid on the Block (Trini)

by UnicornAffair



Series: Wild Pitch [2]
Category: Power Rangers (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Childhood Friends, Gen, Sandlot AU, Yep I meant to tag both Trini's, baseball AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:29:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnicornAffair/pseuds/UnicornAffair
Summary: “Angel Grove isn’t special because of the Valentine’s Day Festival, or the harbor, it’s about the bonds you make here. Friendships that will last you a lifetime”After a promotion, the Gomez family packed up and left Texas to start a new life in southern California. Trini was quick to learn that Angel Grove would become the most important place in her life.The one where Trini meets the boys for the first time.No Context Needed.





	Sideline Stories: New Kid on the Block (Trini)

**Author's Note:**

> Wild Pitch is officially one year old today and I wanted to celebrate that important date by writing a couple of sideline stories featuring Trini as extreme bonus chapters. Mostly fluffy. Just ways for me to say THANK you to each and every one of you that has liked, commented, reblogged, subscribed, made fan art and fan edits, even popped into my inbox on tumblr to say hi. I could not be more blessed and appreciative of everything you all have done for me. Writing this fic has really changed my life in so many ways. This fandom, I've met new friends all over the world and I've really come into my own. <3 <3 <3 please enjoy these little stories.

Angel Grove, wow that sounded like a lame place to be. Trini sat in the middle seat of her parents SUV as they drove through the small harbor town...her new home. Angel Grove sure as heck wasn't as big as Dallas or Houston. This would be the third time that the Gomez family had moved in the span of five years, and this place? Not nearly as impressive as the big cities. Ugh, all this town had to offer was a Krispy Kreme and a McDonalds  _ without a playplace.  _ Trini wasn't sure how she was going to survive this. One of her dopey brothers started to get annoyingly irritating in the back seat, the four year old was having just about the same reaction Trini was to this new town. They only had to move because her father Gabriel had gotten another promotion, but this sure as heck didn’t feel like moving  _ up. _ This was going to  _ suck.  _

Their new house wasn't so bad, two levels, and most importantly...she would be getting her  _ own _ room. Back when she was the only light in the Gomez family’s life, they lived in an apartment in Dallas. She could barely remember the place, but it was her first home. That was back during the days where June would work and her grandmother on the Gomez side would watch her. It was really the only time Trini had with her before she died a couple years later from heart complications. A shame, really, she was easily Trini’s favorite grandparent as her grandfather had died before she was born. Her mother’s side of the family definitely didn’t compare.

The twins came about four years later, and according to Trini, ruined  _ everything.  _ Ugh the little twerps coincided the move to Houston and her mother stepping down from her job to stay at home and watch the kids herself. Trini loved her mother but man, it wouldn't kill her to let her one and only daughter play with the tablet for more than a half an hour a day. June was heavily involved in signing up Trini for special programs, outdoor activities, additional tutoring...she made some killer snacks but even that didn't outweigh the constant need to keep her daughter moving, and worse, socializing. It was annoying.

It didn’t take long during their moving in process for the Vietnamese family next door to come introduce themselves. The Kwan family. A man and wife with an only child who had come home from college for the summer. Oh god, her mother dropped the possibility of this older girl coming over to be the  _ babysitter.  _ That rubbed Trini the wrong way, she was freaking ten years old, she didn’t need some girl to come watch the family. June must’ve asked for the sake of the little devils Michael and Gabe. That totally seemed more plausible.

Mr. Kwan began to help Mr. Gomez with moving the heavier pieces of furniture around the house. Gabriel insisted that he didn’t need movers, that he and June could handle the heavy lifting. Mrs. Gomez was all too happy to play hostess to Mrs. Kwan in the makeshift living room, Mrs. Kwan had so much to share about the town of Angel Grove. Trini didn’t care all too much, she would much rather sit on the front porch and observe the street, just  _ hoping _ that there would be other kids  _ her  _ age. 

Since daughter Kwan was now enlisted to come over to babysit every now and again, she wanted to introduce herself to the Gomez kids. “Hey, mind if I join you?” Trini shrugged a response so the college girl took that to be a yes, “I know moving can be hard, it was hard for me when I was younger, but you’ll make new friends before you know it”

New friends would imply that Trini actually  _ had _ friends to begin with. Despite being involved in so many different programs that’s all it was. A couple week program with other kids that she would barely see again outside of those classes or sports or  _ whatever. _ She always had friendly acquaintances, but she could never call those kids a  _ friend.  _

When the ten year old didn’t respond right away, the older girl tried to reach out again, “My name’s Trini, what’s yours?”

The child’s eyes widened at the sound of the familiar name, sure it was pronounced slightly different than the way she referred to herself but...wow she  _ never _ came across another person with the same first name before. That brought a small smile to her face, the first time since passing the  _ ‘Welcome to Angel Grove’  _ sign. “Me too” She rubbed the back of her neck, she lucked out on the name department. Her parents decided to get all biblical when it came to Michael and Gabriel Jr...angels, all June was missing was a baby Raphael...Trini prayed that she would never have to face having  _ another _ little  _ brother.  _ “My name’s Trini”

Trini Kwan was equally surprised at the exact same name, what were the chances of that? Slim to none. She nodded her head, gently laughing, “It’s a pleasure to meet you” There was something calming about being in the other Trini’s presence, maybe she wouldn’t be the  _ worst _ babysitter, “I know this is  _ smaller _ than what you’re used to, but between you and me...Angel Grove is a pretty special place”

The younger Trini wasn’t a chump, she didn’t believe in such things like  _ magic,  _ “Doesn’t look so special to me” Unless a person was into boats or the nature life, this place screamed small town-dull...quiet. Nothing like the big cities she was used to, places that were so bustling with life, here everything seemed so calm. “...I hate it…”

“You haven’t even given it a chance” It had literally been a total of an hour and Trini Gomez here was already done with the city of Angel Grove. 

“What’s so great about it?” The reluctant child leaned forward, hugging onto her legs. 

“The people” Trini Kwan relaxed, resting back on her hands to get more comfortable. “Angel Grove isn’t special because of the Valentine’s Day Festival, or the harbor, it’s about the bonds you make here. Friendships that will last you a lifetime” Sounded fake, but okay. Her phone pinged, she had received a message that brought a smile to her face. “I met my friends-my  _ family _ here” A wave of nostalgia washed over her, "I don't know where my life would be without them"

Yeah, yeah that sounded great n'all but a ten year old Trini didn't have much of an attention span; not when there was two boys around her age riding their bicycles down the street. One was an African American boy with a big backpack riding a bright royal blue bicycle. The other kid was a blonde with a backwards Los Angeles Dodgers baseball cap on his head. He thought he was so cool riding his red bicycle with no hands. His lips twitched into a smile when he noticed that he was being watched by the new girl and her hot neighbor. His companion on the other hand seemed way too focused on their path to really notice anyone else was there. 

"Who are those kids?" Trini asked, relieved that there were other people  _ her _ age around her; even if  _ other _ Trini wasn't so bad. 

"Mmm" The college girl tutted her head, trying to recall who exactly those boys belonged to. "Oh that's Billy Cranston and Jason Scott. I swear, they're going up to that Sandlot  _ every  _ single day" She let out a light chuckle, typing out a message on her phone to her friend. "Reminds me of High School, we practically lived at the Juice Bar" She paused, "The rec center"

_ Whatever, _ Trini Gomez didn't  _ care _ about the rec center or the Juice Bar or any of that kind of thing. "What's the sandlot?" She asked with a tilt of her head, that sounded  _ way _ cooler. 

"Oh" The older girl squinted, trying to recall what that patch of dirt by the mountains was actually for, "It's an old baseball field" She explained, "I'm honestly surprised it's still there, it hasn't been kept up very well" 

The ten year old's ears perked up at that, baseball. That was the  _ one _ game she enjoyed playing back in Texas. Of all of her mother's little activities and social events that she had to participate in...smashing a ball with a bat had to be her favorite. She had a bat, she had a glove, heck she even had a bike to get to this place. All she really needed to do was follow these Jason Scott and Billy Cranston kids and she'd have somewhere cool to play a game---somewhere that  _ wasn't  _ an organized sport, and more importantly...somewhere away from her constantly doting mother. “Huh….cool”

It was time to get to know Angel Grove more, it was time to take a chance.

 

*****

Trini had waited a couple of days, a wise choice, she wanted her mother a bit more settled in before springing the question on her. The young ten year old dug her baseball mitt out of one of her boxes, pulled on her lucky yellow socks, grabbed her baseball hat and tucked all of her hair underneath. To make herself look more like a boy. Annoying her mother, well, that was just a bonus. Billy and Jason were about to pass her house and if she wanted to follow them, and to show her mom that  _ other _ kids would be there she would have to act fast. 

"Mom, can I go to the Sandlot with some kids down the block?" Trini asked, hopefully, it wasn't like she asked for favors very often. She knew which battles were lost causes, but  _ this _ she felt a burning need to be apart of. 

"Will there be anyone there to supervise?" June asked, a fair question from an adult who watches way too much television. She already started to pack Trini a small yellow backpack. Snacks, waters, an emergency phone so she could trace her daughters exact whereabouts, pads---just in case  _ that _ started, anything for her eldest to be prepared for any situation. 

"Sure" Trini didn't know, she didn't have a clue to what the hell she was getting herself involved in. 

"Be home before dark, or else I'm going to call the police" June reached forward to take the Texas Rangers hat off of her daughter's head, letting her hair flow down naturally, "And please, can you  _ try _ to look like a girl?"

No can do mama. The second Trini was outside that hair went right back under the hat. She climbed up on her yellow bike and sat, waiting for Jason and Billy to pass right on by. This was dumb, right? She never really did this sort of thing before...leave the nest to follow a whim but she would drive herself crazy if she stayed in that house with her annoying little brothers. Gabe and Michael could keep her mother company. She had bigger places to go, people to meet. 

"Yo homeboys" Trini called, to the two boys on their bikes, making Jason and Billy skid to a stop. "Mind if I tag along?"

Billy looked to Jason, looked like red here called the shots. Jason couldn't quite put his finger on it...why this kid seemed so familiar but he brushed it aside. There was  _ one _ question that really mattered. "You play ball?"

"Since I was 4" Trini called back, a confident smirk on her face, ah tee-ball...those were the days. 

That was all the confirmation Jason Scott needed, "Sure, c'mon try to keep up with us" He motioned with his arm for Trini to join, an affirmation that the new kid could tag along to this Sandlot place. The two boys waited for Trini to saddle up on her yellow bike before taking off in the direction of the mountains. 

Wow, Trini Kwan was  _ not _ kidding at the condition of this field. It was abandoned, forgotten,  patches of weeds had sprouted and the outfield suffered from a mighty need to be mowed. This wasn't the rec baseball she was used to with the pristine lines in the dirt and the nicely kept up grass. A giant fence in the back separated this crap-ass hodge-podge of a field and the residence behind it. Still, it was nice to have the privacy. Kids could be kids here and most importantly they could play their game. Jason and Billy guided Trini to the pitcher's mound, garnering attention of the other two kids there. The Asian kid in a plain black t-shirt and jean shorts grinned at the newcomer, he seemed friendly. The other boy in a green t-shirt with a gold dragon on it. this kid must've just gotten back from a renaissance festival, instead of a traditional baseball cap he wore a green bandana in his hair.

"No Mercer? Where is everyone?" Jason asked, frowning as they could barely make up  _ one _ team with a group of  _ five.  _

Green bandana spoke first, "Camp just started" As if that explained everything, "The other guys'll be spotty" He, Jason, Billy and the other kid were at least loyal to still coming here everyday. Which meant one of two things; that these boys parents couldn't  _ afford _ camp, or that their parents weren't as high strung about activities as June Gomez had been. 

The boy in the black shirt was quick to interject, what mattered was the kids that were here not the kids who had to go to camp and could only make it a few days of the week. "Who's your new friend?"   
  
Jason and Billy exchanged a glance, oh, they didn't even ask what her name was. "Uh"  
  
Dragon boy decided to interject, as if he was the leader of this band of boys, "My names Tommy Oliver" He grinned wide, as if Trini should already know the Oliver name and react to it. "This here's Taylor, Scott and Cranston" Taylor and Scott sounded like regular boys names, so Trini was relieved to pick up on the trend when Tommy dropped the name Cranston.    
  
"Gomez" Trini nodded, wanting to be cool with the boys here, "We just moved here a couple of days ago" And thankfully after any sort of freaking cut off date for camp sign ups. This was a summer she could  _ relax _ and do whatever she wanted. 

With only five kids here, Trini  _ had _ to ask the question, "So how do you guys even play?" There wasn't even enough for a full team. Some of the other kids not being here every day meant that there wasn't enough for a full team of nine. "Home run derby?"

The four boys exchanged a glance, fear struck in their eyes. Okay, so, home runs weren't encouraged. What the hell was behind that fence? Tommy formulated a plan. "We normally do red team vs green team but..." Not enough kids today, "I dunno" Tommy looked over to Jason to see if the other kid would have a brilliant idea. 

"I'll pitch" Jason volunteered himself for the most important job on a defense, "Cranston if you want to bat...two outfield two infield. Ten pitches, your last one, run as many bases as you can before getting out" The blonde rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what else they really  _ could _ do, "Whoever gets the furthest wins"

"Which'll be me" Taylor, Trini wasn't sure what his first name was, chimed in. He rested his hands behind his neck, confident that  _ he _ was the best player here.

"Okay  _ Zack _ whatever you say" Tommy rolled his eyes, "Gomez, you think you can handle the outfield?" The pitcher would have to serve as a second infielder just to cover more territory. "Shortstop is  _ my _ position"

"I can handle the outfield" She narrowed her eyes at him, she definitely didn't like his tone. He had his doubts about a new kid playing with them, well, Trini would just have to prove him wrong.  

Billy took a red bat out of Jason's bag and stepped up to the plate. Trini would have to be covering the outfield with Zack, she didn't need to spend much time out here to know that the outfield was his  _ zone.  _ He kept his eye trained on the batter, his arms in a relaxed position; swaying back and forth. He crouched down as if getting ready to make a run in any given direction. Zack Taylor practically  _ challenged _ anyone at the plate to get a ball past him, he lived and breathed covering the wide expanse of the grass. This was the type of kid who lived for the big plays, the chances to get his whole body involved to make that diving catch.

Jason pitched the ball, and if Billy didn't make contact with it, he would have to turn around and bend over to throw the ball back to Jason. Oh dear God that kind of thing would take forever without a proper catcher. Were these boys so dumb they only brought one ball? Ten year old boys. Yeah, they were definitely dumb enough not to think that through. After what felt like a lifetime, Billy went through his pitches and hit a ball over Tommy's head. Zack was quick to make the running grab to halt Billy at second base. Write the boy in blue down for a double, currently he was the furthest without getting out. He was also the only person to have batted, so, by default that meant he was winning. 

"Yo!" Trini's tiny voice carried far enough, Zack was the next to bat and frankly she didn't want to sit around and wait any longer. She wanted in, "Can I catch? This is freaking painful" As the pitcher, Jason didn't have much of a care either way to who was giving him the ball back.    
  
"No one ever wants to be the catcher" Billy commented as he started to take the field, Trini understood, crouching sucked.   
  
"Okay...we shift" Two outfields two infielders. With Zack coming in to bat and Trini coming in to catch it meant that Billy and Tommy would have to be taking their places in the grass. Tommy locked eyes with Zack, "You won't even make it to first" He laughed, confident that if Zack hit it into the outfield that the superstar would catch it. 

Trini crouched down, a bit further back then a regular catcher would. She may've had her own bat and glove but she sure as hell didn't have a proper catchers mask or the extra padding. Nope. She wasn't going to risk standing too close and getting nailed by an oncoming baseball. These kids didn't even have batting helmets. At least they were only ten, the balls coming her way wouldn't be coming fast, Jason simply didn't have that kind of strength yet. At least behind the plate, Trini could have her fun messing with the boys. "So Oliver seems like a real piece of work"   
  
"You don't know the half of it" Zack mumbled kicking into the ground, getting himself ready with Jason's bat. "C'mon, right down the middle" Zack murmured, bending his knees, his eyes fixated on the pitcher.   
Trini lowered her glove to the bottom right corner of the plate to give Jason a target, as if she was going to let this be easy for Zack Taylor here. Here comes the pitch and "OH  _ big _ swing" The ball found a home in Trini's mitt, the leather making a satisfying sound. If this were a real game that'd be a strike. "Nice try" Chump. She threw the ball back to Jason, finding her confidence tricking the batter from behind the plate.

"Whoa hey now no worries, no worries,  _ everyone  _ misses" Trini taunted, squatting back down in position, a low ball next seemed like a good plan. Jason on the mound smirked, oh he knew  _ exactly  _ what she was up to and he loved it. The most important relationship on the field was a trust between the pitcher and the catcher. A catcher frames where a pitch was going to go, and Jason here would just have to work his magic. Another swing and a miss, Trini freaking  _ snickered _ at Zack, "Yeah, you shouldn't have swung at that one  _ dummy" _

Okay, okay, no more funny business. If anyone needed to shown up it was Tommy Oliver out in the field, he was an infielder that talked big game. Trini framed her mitt for Jason, giving Zack  _ exactly _ what he wanted. A perfect pitch right down the middle. Zack made contact with the ball, rocketing it into center field. The boy in black bolted off, damn that kid was fast. Billy and Tommy were both calling for the ball, neither one let up and because of it they collided into one another. Boys were so dumb. Jason ran to second base, opening and closing his glove shouting a "Throw it in! Throw it in!"    
  
Trini got to her feet and stood in front of the plate, Zack was already rounding second and making his way to third. Oh shit that was going to be close. Tommy grabbed the ball, remaining on his knees as he threw it into his cut off Jason. It was now or never. Zack was well on his way home when Jason rocketed the baseball into Trini's glove. She turned her body to take the brunt of Zack crashing into her, the boy not yet perfecting the best way to slide, knocking her down as well. Her Texas Rangers hat fell off her head, her hair cascaded down as she lied there flat on her back. The ball still tightly into her mitt. Out. Yeah, sucker,  _ nothing _ got past Trini Gomez when she had the ball in her glove. It didn't matter  _ how _ big the other kid was, the girl had a death grip.   
  
_ A girl. _

Zack probably wouldn't have felt  _ as _ bad if he had knocked over a boy, but shit, he just crashed into a  _ girl.  _ Panic stricken, he offered a hand for Trini to get to her feet, doing his best to politely dust her off as much as possible without touching her butt. Touching a girl--who's not your girlfriend's butt was a big no no. He was raised well. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" 

Trini could only shove his shoulder back just so he wasn't freaking touching her anymore. "I'm not made outta glass" She was  _ fine,  _ and she didn't want to get any other special treatment because she was a girl. 

The young boy simply blinked, he definitely never met a girl like Trini. A blush crept on his face as Jason, Billy and Tommy came in to see if everything was okay. That right there was the moment cupid hit him with a whammy of a first crush. Wow, mark Trini Gomez amazing in his book. 

Jason was the first to speak, shaking his head in utter disbelief, "You're a  _ girl?"  _ As if Trini had just committed a crime against the sport. 

“No, a goat” She shook her incredulously, whatever, it wasn't like she was trying to trick them. They were trying to be cool and going by  _ last _ names, and pre-puberty-none of their voices had dropped yet...she just looked like a younger smaller kid next to them. "You're  _ very _ perceptive" Trini held her ground, a hand on her hip. 

Jason simply had to look over to Billy next to him, the Angel Grove education department did the boy in red wonders. Billy laughed, he knew he was the go to for explanation, “Observant…” Still nothing.

“I think what he’s going for is  _ Captain Obvious.”  _ Tommy draped an arm around Jason’s shoulders, feeling bad for his dumb friend, but not bad enough for laughing at him. “We don’t play with girls”

“She’s been playing with us all day” Zack frowned, “And if you haven’t noticed, we’re going to be down a couple of guys...why  _ not  _ let her play?”

Jason folded his arms, “She does make a good catcher…” He had enough experience with her behind the plate to know that she was good enough. Besides, Zack was right, summer camp ruined their numbers. “If you wanna play you gotta get a mask” He used the back of his knuckle to tap Trini’s forehead, “Wouldn’t want your teeth to get knocked out”

“I can do that” She could ask her dad, no problem, this one was staying far away from the momster. 

Billy offered Trini the red bat next, “Let’s see what you’ve got”

“I bet she can’t even hit it to the grass” An all too confident Tommy grinned, hitting Jason’s chest with his mitt, “Don’t go easy on her because she’s a  _ girl”  _

“Wasn’t planning on it” Jason simply nodded in Trini’s direction. Flipping his Dodgers hat backwards like Ash Ketchum did on Pokémon when shit was about to get real. “What’re you guys waiting for? Take the field!”

Zack stayed a little bit behind, resting a hand on Trini’s shoulder, he wanted to make sure that she was okay...and more importantly that he was  _ way  _ cooler than the likes of Jason, Tommy and Billy. “Knock ‘em dead” 

Oh, she showed them alright. Trini used her first nine pitches to hit the ball in Tommy’s direction, mostly grounders to make him run between second and third base to try and scoop them up. She made him look like an idiot going back and forth until the tenth and final pitch. There was something  _ so  _ satisfying in hitting it right up center field, into the grass. Just because she was the only girl on the field didn’t mean she couldn’t play ball like the rest of the guys.   
  
After the initial breaking the ice the guys quickly welcomed her in with open arms...literally. Zack Taylor was all about the hugs. He always had an arm draped around one of the other guys shoulders-well Jason and Tommy, Billy wasn’t much for the physical touch. Even Tommy warmed up to the idea of having a girl on their little rag tag team. This was something Trini could call hers, a group of friends, a  _ place _ to finally fit in...maybe Angel Grove wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. Maybe this would be the place she could finally call  _ home. _

**Author's Note:**

> <3 <3 <3 thank you everyone SO much


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